Be-a-Better-Gardener – Bare-Root Bargains

 

 

Be-a-Better-Gardener

Bare-Root Bargains

The crab apple is a good example of a deciduous tree that transplants well from a bare root.

 

By Thomas Christopher

 

Spring is just around the corner, but there’s still time to take advantage of one of gardening’s greatest bargains: bare-root trees and shrubs.

These are trees and shrubs, commonly deciduous, that have been dug from the nursery bed while still dormant and then put in cold storage, until they are shipped to the customer, without any soil around their still-dormant roots. Because they are shipped “bare-root,” such trees and shrubs are much lighter than their balled and burlapped (“b&b”) or container-grown relatives, and easier to handle. This is reflected in their price, which is typically around half as much as a container-grown tree or shrub of the same type and similar size.

The disadvantage of bare-root trees and shrubs is that they must be replanted before they break dormancy. That means you have to act fast when you receive them.  In fact, you should ideally dig the planting holes before the trees or shrubs arrive so that you can get them back into the ground within a day or two.  Because of the dormancy issue, the planting season for bare-root trees and shrubs is relatively short.  It’s best to plant them right at the beginning of spring, as soon as the soil has thawed and dried out enough to be dug.

It’s important to note, though, that bare-root trees have a number of important advantages in addition to their lower cost.

Because you can order them through the mail direct from the growers, bare-root trees and shrubs come in a much greater variety of species and types than the meager assortment of container-grown or b&b trees and shrubs you are likely to find at your local garden center or big box store.

Then there’s the convenience.  Bare-root trees and shrubs, if ordered by mail, are delivered right to your doorstep, saving you a drive to the nursery. Because they are so much lighter than comparably sized container-grown or b&b stock, bare-root trees and shrubs are much easier for you to handle.  I’ve planted six-foot bare-root trees all by myself, even with my bad back.

Healthier root systems are another advantage of bare-root trees and shrubs. It might seem that leaving the roots exposed would damage them, but if dug from the nursery bed carefully and at the right time, and stored properly, this is not the case. In contrast, the process of digging the root ball for b&b plants severs many roots so that on average, a bare-root tree will have 200 percent more roots than its b&b equivalent.

Container-grown trees and shrubs have their own problems. Their roots tend to grow outward until they reach the inside of the container and then turn and circle round the root mass. If you see such circling roots, you can snip them at transplanting time, but often they are hidden when the tree or shrub was repotted into a larger container as it grew.  And unless they are pruned back, these circling roots will gradually choke the tree or shrub after it has been planted in your garden. This is not a problem experienced with bare-root trees and shrubs, because you arrange their roots at planting time, fanning them out so that they radiate outward through the soil you place back in the planting hole.

A final advantage of the bare-root trees and shrubs is that they typically get off to a faster start after transplanting and often grow more vigorously thereafter than b&b or container-grown plants. For b&b trees and shrubs, this is because the plant needs quite a while to recover from the trauma of having its roots cropped when it was harvested, and it will rarely make much growth in the first year or two after planting. Container-grown trees and shrubs escape that trauma, of course, but even if not afflicted with circling roots, their root system tends to stay within the enriched soil that came in their container; their roots commonly extend into the surrounding earth only slowly if at all.  Bare-root plants, which come without soil, have no choice but to root into their surroundings and are likely to establish themselves more robustly and quickly.

 

 

Thomas Christopher is the co-author of “Garden Revolution” (Timber Press, 2016) and is a volunteer at Berkshire Botanical Garden. berkshirebotanical.org

Be-a-Better-Gardener is a community service of Berkshire Botanical Garden, one of the nation’s oldest botanical gardens in Stockbridge, MA. Its mission to provide knowledge of gardening and the environment through 25 display gardens and a diverse range of classes informs and inspires thousands of students and visitors on horticultural topics every year.  Thomas Christopher is the co-author of Garden Revolution (Timber press, 2016) and is a volunteer at Berkshire Botanical Garden. berkshirebotanical.org.

 

 

Author: Harlem Valley News